Theola Mae Payne

Asheville - Theola Mae Lunsford Payne of 186 Vermont Avenue died Sunday May 11, 2003 at her home after an extended illness. A native and lifelong resident of Buncombe County, She began her nursing career at Memorial Mission Hospital then worked for 18 years at St. Josephs Hospital then 20 years with Drs. Sommerville and Smart. She was a member of Sand Hill Baptist Church. She was a daughter of the late James Edward and Emma Louise Stewart Lunsford and the wife of the late Earl Cameron Payne. Surviving are her daughters, Gloria Simpson of Trenton, S.C., Janice Payne of the home, Joyce Penland of Fletcher, Karen Rogers of Swannanoa and Pixie Cawley of Gloverville, S.C.; 11 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Tuesday at Anders-Rice Funeral Home with the Revs. Michael Carter and Jerry Payne officiating. Burial will be in Ashelawn Gardens of Memory with the grandsons serving as pallbearers. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 P.M. Monday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to: Mountain Area Hospice, P.O. Box 25338, Asheville, N.C.